Ultra-sensitive strain sensors based on piezoresistive nanographene films

Graphene shows promise on strain sensor applications, but the piezoresistive sensitivity of perfect graphene is low due to its weak electrical conductivity response upon structural deformation. In this paper, we used nanographene films for ultra-sensitive strain sensors. The piezoresistive sensitivity of nanographene films with different thicknesses and conductivities was systematically investigated and a nearly inverse proportional correlation was found. A gauge factor over 300, the highest so far for graphene-based strain sensors, was achieved. A charge tunneling model was used to explain the piezoresistive characteristics of nanographene films, which indicates our results provide a different rout toward ultra-sensitive strain sensors. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4742331]